Homebuilder Barking Up the Right Tree with Guide Dog Donation

TRAINEE guide dogs were given a reason to wag their tails after a generous donation topped off a familiarisation visit to a luxury property development.

As part of their training to help the blind and partially sighted, the guide dog pups and their walkers visited CALA Homes (East’s) Kinleith Mill development in Currie to help the young dogs get accustomed to new sights and sounds.

The trip was organised by CALA Sales Advisor Susan Wynn, who has volunteered as a Boarder with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association for the past three years. The role sees her assist in looking after the puppies from around eight weeks of age to one year old, at which point they are transferred to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Training Centre in Forfar to begin their specialised training.

The upmarket homebuilder also pledged a £500 donation to the charity, to further support the puppies’ progression.

Susan said: “It was fantastic to have the dogs and their puppy walkers here at Kinleith Mill and, unsurprisingly, the staff at the development were very excited to get to meet them.

“The aim of puppy walking is to produce a puppy that is socially well behaved, friendly and responsive to the handler. It’s also important that the pup is at ease in all environments and learns an acceptable standard of behaviour on the lead.

“This visit enabled the puppies to get invaluable experience of the different aspects of a housing development. There’s still some construction going on at Kinleith Mill, so the trainers had the chance to see how their dog would react around noise and machinery.

“The development is also set on the Water of Leith, and running water is another aspect that the dogs have to become accustomed to. It was an incredibly useful training exercise and I’m very thankful to CALA for being so supportive of my volunteering.”

Phillip Hogg, Sales and Marketing Director at CALA Homes (East), said: “At CALA, we aim to support the charitable efforts of our staff wherever possible, and so it was great to have Susan hold the familiarisation visit at our Kinleith Mill site.

“The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is a fantastic organisation which plays such a vital role in helping those who live with visual impairment, and we’re very pleased to be able to contribute to the cause.”

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association provides life changing mobility services, which enables people who are blind and partially sighted to take control of their lives and get around with confidence.